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FloQast, a provider of close management software created by accountants for accountants to close the books faster and more accurately, today announced the results of a just released survey entitled “The Ugliness of the Audit.” The study, based on feedback from more than 200 financial audit stakeholders, clearly demonstrates that audits are becoming significantly more costly and burdensome for companies of all sizes and the situation is not expected to improve in the next two years. It is important to note that these cost increases are driven primarily by changing accounting rules and regulations such as ASC 606.
“The audit is an essential part of the accounting process, but it is abundantly clear that the process has become overly taxing and expensive for companies of all sizes,” said Diane Hagglund, senior research analyst at Dimensional Research. “As audits become increasingly painful and burdensome, it is driving demand for innovative software solutions that help mitigate this pain by delivering a level of sanity into the process.”
Key Report Findings include:
- Audit costs are rapidly growing - Audits are becoming increasingly expensive for organizations of all sizes, with over half of finance teams (53%) reporting substantial increases in audit costs in the past two years, driven primarily (64%) by new accounting regulations. The vast majority (81%) of companies that have adopted ASC 606 in their audit procedures report that it has negatively impacted their audit, increasing the cost and time to complete it and adding additional stress and frustration to the process. Ninety percent (90%) expect audit costs to further increase in the next two years and more than half (55%) of large companies (over 1,000 employees) have annual audit fees of more than $250,000.
- Audits are lengthy and disruptive for finance teams - The audit process places a big strain on finance and accounting departments with ninety-five percent (95%) stating they face challenges with their audits, including conflicts with other work (82%), the complexity of accounting rules (58%), and dealing with the stressful time that has a personal impact on their staff (50%). Most telling, 66% say that CFOs and controllers live with persistent fear that they may have missed something in their financials that will come under the scrutiny of the auditors.
- Financial software improves the audit process - Close management software is providing improvements to the audit process for 91% of the finance teams that use it, and they are less likely to expect significant increases in the cost of their audit in the future. Eighty-nine percent (89%) of those surveyed indicated they would benefit from additional software capabilities, commonly found in close management, during their audit.
“This survey validates what we hear from our customers every day - the audit has become a black hole that sucks the money, time and morale from accounting teams every year,” said Mike Whitmire, CPA*, co-founder and CEO of FloQast. “FloQast’s goal is to provide controllers and CFOs with the financial software and tools that drive more efficient audits meaning less billable hours by auditors and a quicker return to focusing on what really matters, and that’s running the business.”
A complimentary copy of the report is available here.
Join Dimensional Research and FloQast for a live webinar on “The Ugliness of the Audit - and How to Avoid It” on December 11 at 11:00 am PT/2:00 pm ET during which they will walk through the survey results and share best practices for how to improve audit readiness. Register Here.
Visit the FloQast website to learn about FloQast close management software and how it will help your accounting team to streamline your annual audit.
Survey Methodology
The survey was conducted by Dimensional Research, on behalf of FloQast, in November 2019. A total of 203 accounting and finance professionals participated in the survey, all of whom were directly responsible for activities and outcomes of year-end financial audits. The purpose of the survey was to gauge finance and accounting professionals’ opinions of and experiences with the annual audit process, particularly in the light of the adoption of new accounting regulations such as ASC 606 and 842.
- Dimensional Research® provides practical market research to help technology companies make their customers more successful. Our researchers are experts in the way technology organizations operate to meet the needs of their business stakeholders. We partner with our clients to deliver actionable information that reduces risks, increases customer satisfaction, and improves business results.